Fake AP White House attack tweet sends Dow tumbling for moments

Hackers sent a fake alert via the Associated Press Twitter feed about an attack on the White House.

The tweet, issued at 1:07 p.m., read "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured"

The AP removed the tweet, but not before it was retweeted more than 4,300 times.

"The (at)AP twitter account has been hacked. A tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise on acct. status," the company tweeted before the account was either shut down or suspended.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 100 points within moments of the tweet, then rebounded completely within minutes. The NASDAQ also dropped about 30 points and rebounded.

An AP reporter tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the fake tweet "came less than an hour after some of us received an impressively disguised phishing email."

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